


He Was Always Better With Words Than I

by prouvairecateur, sassmasterkillian



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, There will be lots of Patroclus and Briseis bromance because I love them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2013-07-01
Packaged: 2017-12-10 03:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvairecateur/pseuds/prouvairecateur, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassmasterkillian/pseuds/sassmasterkillian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an idea that I am working on with my friend Lexi (sassmaster-killian.tumblr.com). It is a Modern University AU and Patroclus works at the local bookstore. They meet when Achilles comes into the store looking for a specific book. This will be a multi-chapter story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

Patroclus shuffled into the small dark room of the bookstore where he worked, flicking on the lights as he went. He was already starting the day off on the wrong foot, running late and not being able to get coffee on the way. Normally he would have been able to plan things better, but his alarm didn’t go off and he slept in later than expected. 

Patroclus had been studying at the local university for a little over a year now. He was a budding pre-med student who got into the school with a full ride scholarship awarded to him by the dean himself. He was currently being mentored by Professor Chiron, a sturdy man who was soft-spoken and always patient with new students. The professor mentored many students at the university, all of whom had surprisingly varied fields of study. He was known for pulling all of the students with promising marks and giving them extra guidance throughout their university education.

He threw his winter coat and beanie haphazardly onto the counter near the front before beginning his pre-shift inventory. Not in the mood for doing much of anything this morning, he made a quick round of the shelves then returned to his post at the counter. 

He ran his hand through his dark hair and heaved a sigh, relaxing further into the chair he was occupying. He loved working at the bookstore, but there were mornings where he would rather be in bed asleep like the rest of his peers were this early in the morning. 

As soon as he shut his eyes to rest a bit, he heard the gust of wind announcing that someone had entered the store. His head snapped up to regard the customer and he had to stop himself from staring. 

He knew the young man, of course. Achilles was the son of the dean and was also being mentored by Chiron. He was tall, quite a bit taller than Patroclus, and his frame was much larger as well. He had blonde hair that curled around his shoulders. His eyes were dark and piercing as he started toward Patroclus. He had never seen him this close before and decided to busy himself as not to be seen looking at the blonde man for too long.

As the footsteps approached, he gave yet another withering glance and caught a warm smile from Achilles. “Hi, are you Patroclus?” The dark haired man had never heard his name spoken with as much clarity as Achilles did. He articulated every syllable as though he was trying to make a clear conviction. “Chiron told me I could find a young man by that name here, who could help me find something. My name’s Achilles.” 

Patroclus cleared his throat and gave a sharp nod of his head. “I’m Patroclus. What are you looking for exactly?” Achilles smirked and rummaged in his pocket, procuring a piece of stationary from the university and handing it to Patroclus. 

The young man looked tiredly at the piece of paper. He recognized the name of the book- this wasn’t the first time Professor Chiron had recommended it for a student- but he wasn’t sure where it was. He had forgotten his formalities in this situation and merely turned around to head toward the rows of books, leaving Achilles to trail behind awkwardly. This would later be attributed to the fact that he was lacking the proper amount of caffeine needed to function properly at this hour. 

“So, you are a protégé of Chiron’s as well?” Achilles inquired in an attempt to fill the heavy silence looming around the pair. 

The smaller man simply nodded, his mind otherwise preoccupied with trying to remember where the book he was looking for had been shelved. 

“He’s great, isn’t he? Professor Chiron, I mean.” Patroclus could tell that Achilles was the type of person who was used to making small talk with others. It was probably something he was taught to do at a young age by his father.

“Yes.” The pair turned a corner to head down a back aisle. Achilles would stop for a second here and there to look at some of the titles on the shelves. Patroclus turned around to observe the other man, while he was otherwise preoccupied and wouldn’t notice. 

He seemed very nice. Patroclus always thought the man was very shallow and stuck up, judging by his dad’s occupation and the wealth and power they had, but he had obviously thought wrong. This man was someone he could see himself talking to more often. He wasn’t too bad to look at either. 

He didn’t realize he had been staring for quite a while, until Achilles cleared his throat. Their eyes met and the blonde man gave a twitch of his lips resembling a small smile. Patroclus could feel his face flush in embarrassment and he quickly ducked down another aisle, continuing his search for the book while also trying to avoid any awkwardness his staring might have caused.

“How long have you worked here, Patroclus?” By now he had caught up and was back to asking questions.

The man wouldn’t dare look up to answer the question so he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. “About eight months,” he replied, addressing the ground more than the person the answer was meant for. Achilles nodded.

“What are you studying?”

“Medicine.” Patroclus didn’t mean to sound rude with his short replies. He just wasn’t one for talking about himself much. He doesn’t talk much to anyone other than to give a curt reply to a question, except for when he is with his best friend Briseis. 

“That’s got to be tough. I am studying political science. Wasn’t my first choice, but my dad had his way and-.” He wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the man in front of him had stopped walking, causing them to collide and topple into the nearest shelf. Achilles landed on top of Patroclus as several books fell from the shelf onto his back. 

“Oh man, I am so sorry,” he apologized, helping Patroclus up from the ground. He quickly rushed to put the books back in their place. “I should have been watching where I was going.” 

Patroclus shook his head and held out a book. “Here’s what you were looking for.” 

A slight frown graced Achilles features as he took the book. “Thanks,” the blonde man mumbled as the two began to make their way back to the front counter. Patroclus was flushing a deep red, either from embarrassment or just pure discomfort, he wasn’t sure. Achilles continued to prattle on in apology for knocking the pair of them down at the bookshelf, as Patroclus rang up the total for the book. I probably shouldn’t just let him go on and on with this. 

“Honestly, it was no problem, Achilles.” The quiet boy looked up from the register and gave a soft, reassuring smile, which was returned with one that was exceedingly bright.

“Well, thanks for helping me find the book. Maybe I’ll see you around Chiron’s office sometime?”

Patroclus nodded in agreement and watched as Achilles turned and exited the book shop. He gave a loud grunt, when he saw the man was completely out of the building, and slammed his head against the table. The whole encounter had been a disaster and now the brilliant young man probably thought Patroclus was a jerk. 

He was muttering under his breath and didn’t notice that Achilles had returned until he felt a tap on his shoulder. The bright blonde had a knowing smile on his face. “By the way, it was nice meeting you, Patroclus.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wasn’t normally like this. He was always cool, calm, collected Achilles who quivered at none. But today was different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part of the fic actually doesn’t include Patroclus, so enjoy some Achilles.-Lexi

There was a quiet bell jingle as Achilles pushed the local book store’s door, completely flustered. He shook his head, as if to try and erase to deep red off of his cheeks, but had no success. What the hell? A cool zephyr startled him as he blinked to regain composure, continuing to walk down the campus road.

He wasn’t normally like this. He was always cool, calm, collected Achilles who quivered at none. But today was different. Something stirred inside of him, in the pit of his stomach; a pitter-patter of his heart. It was a new sensation. The young man he had just met, even as awkward as he seemed, intrigued him. Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he saw a flash across the screen. Reluctantly, he swiped his finger against the phone, pressing it to his ear.

“Hello?” 

“Achilles! Are we still on for today?” The voice on the other end asked cheerily. Achilles stopped walking abruptly, breathing in sharply. Deidameia. 

“O-Of course! Obviously.” He chuckled nervously, his eyes darting for his shoes. Even hearing her voice had become nerve racking. “When are we meeting?”

“Can you meet up in 5? At the café?” 

“Yeah yeah, sure.” He sighed softly, making sure that the beaming woman wouldn’t hear his disappointed tone. 

“Fantastic, I’ll see you then.” Achilles didn’t even say goodbye, but simply pressed the end button, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. With a huff, he turned around and began to head towards the other side of campus.

Deidameia and Achilles had been seeing each other for at least a decent amount on time, though Achilles never liked to remember exact dates when it came to romantic relationships. He had met her through his mother’s lifelong friend. His mother loved Deidameia, and hardly thought anyone else was good enough for her son. Though, he seldom spoke to his mother. She was a well-known diplomat and constantly traveled abroad, meaning he couldn’t always get in contact with her. One night she would be in Thailand, and the next in Mexico. Even though he rarely saw her, she always had expectations for him. Be on time for class, don’t get into trouble, and do not disobey me; her words were etched into his mind. And even if he wanted to rebel against her strict ways, he could never bring himself to do it.

After a quick walk around the block, Achilles found himself at the steps of the local campus café, bursting at the seams with milling students. The grainy scent of coffee drifted out the door, almost nauseating the blonde haired student. Peering through the window, he caught a glimpse of Deidameia, with her lightly tossed chestnut locks and shimmering skin. She looked effortless, carrying herself with a confident air. And she was beautiful, Achilles himself couldn’t even deny that, but there was something off putting whenever he was with her. 

Pushing those foul thoughts out of his head, Achilles quickly climbed up the steps and entered the café, sauntering up to the table where Deidameia sat. 

“Achilles!” She almost screamed; her eyes twinkled at the sight of him. Achilles managed to flash a beaming, full toothed smile in reply while shrugging off his coat. “It’s very nice to see you, Deidameia.” 

“And you as well.” She tilted her head slightly, sighing. “I’ve missed you.” Achilles raised his eyebrows, taking in a short breath. “You have?” 

“But of course.” Her lips spread into a sly smile as her eyes trailed up and down, admiring Achilles’s complexion. She couldn’t help but notice how well his white t-shirt hugged his toned arms. “I mean, you are quite memorable.” 

Achilles seemed to ignore her comments, and instead stared out of the café window, lost in thought. Her expression fell. “Are you even listening, Pyrrha?” She searched his face, then leaned back into her chair, arms crossed. 

Achilles quickly glanced back at her, tapping his fingers on the empty coffee mug placed in front of him. “Yes, yes of course.” His voice relaxed. “Also, can you not call me Pyrrha, please?” He requested, now finally looking her in the eye. 

Furrowing her brow, Deidameia slowly replied “Yes, I’m sorry Achilles.” 

Achilles nodded, smiling softly. “Thank you.” 

The pair sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what words would be suitable to fill the empty void. Achilles had been the master at small talk, but something was stopping him from letting his words slip off of his tongue.

“I think I should get going. I actually have a paper to write for Chiron.” Achilles mumbled, reaching for his scarf. He honestly wanted to get out of the café as soon as humanly possible. “I’m incredibly sorry for our meeting to be cut short.”

Deidameia narrowed her eyes. “It’s fine.” She stated curtly, her lips turning down into a puckered frown. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to hold back the cruel things she wished to say. Once Achilles had buttoned up her coat, he leaned down swiftly to kiss her, being the polite and charming man he was. Only when he leaned in to press his lips to hers, he kept seeing a face in the back of his mind. A face with dark curls, a subtle smile, and a quiet mind. Patroclus.

He hastily pulled away, his eyes full of shock. He felt frozen, hardly able to move. Deidameia opened her mouth to speak, then quickly shut it. “I-I’ll see you soon.” He stuttered, bolting out of the café, and out into the streets. As he started to head home, he turned his head and caught a glance of Deidameia sitting alone in the now empty café, her head in her hands.

“You never saw that.” He murmured to himself, and sped up his pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next installment will be about Patroclus and Briseis. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He thinks I am a major pain, I am sure of it,” the young man sighed, taking a sip of the coffee he had been waiting all day for. Briseis didn’t know what to say, so she just softly smiled. She knew how stubborn he could get when he was upset about something. There wasn’t much she could say to convince him otherwise in these cases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is centered around Patroclus and Briseis after the events in the first chapter.-Renee

“Honestly, Briseis, it was awful. He is probably laughing about me to his friends right now. I will forever be known to him as the weird boy from the bookstore that has a staring problem.”

After finishing up his shift at the bookstore, Patroclus decided to meet up for a coffee date with his best friend Briseis. She knew him better than anyone and they were each other’s closest confidant. It only seemed right that she would be the one he told about his run in with Achilles.

The pair had known each other for a very long time, ever since they were both sent off to the same boarding school, at a very early age, by their parents. They never had great family lives, so they found solace in each other. By the time university came around, Patroclus was practically Briseis’ older brother, keeping her safe and helping her get by on her own. 

“I doubt it, Pat. From what you have told me, it sounds like he didn’t find you weird. He would probably be afraid that you thought the same about him. I mean, he did knock you over into the bookshelf.” Briseis was always a very good listener and she knew just what to say to make Patroclus feel better. He has always been a nervous sort of person and Briseis was his constant support through the rough patches. 

“He thinks I am a major pain, I am sure of it,” the young man sighed, taking a sip of the coffee he had been waiting all day for. Briseis didn’t know what to say, so she just softly smiled. She knew how stubborn he could get when he was upset about something. There wasn’t much she could say to convince him otherwise in these cases. 

“Tell me more about him. How did he act when he caught you staring?”

Patroclus could feel his face flushing. He really wanted to forget about that whole situation. “I guess he just acted like it hadn’t happened. He didn’t say anything about it.”

“Maybe he didn’t think anything of it,” the woman countered. “You even said you had your back turned to him most of the time- who’s to say he hadn’t been staring at you that whole time as well?”

Patroclus snorted out a quick, “Doubt it,” and twirled the small coffee cup in a circle in his hands. 

He didn’t see the spiteful look Briseis shot him. She knew he didn’t think much of himself in terms of looks, but she thought he didn’t see himself very clearly. Sure he wasn’t incredibly attractive, but there is always something to be said about being exceedingly average, especially when you were as kind and compassionate as Patroclus was. The young woman had always cared so deeply for her friend- there was even a time when she had hoped there could be something more between the two of them. It didn’t take long for her to realize that he would never think of her that way. She would never be anything more than his “little sister”.

She decided to change the subject to something potentially less disheartening.

“He studies with Chiron as well?” Patroclus just nodded, staring at the cup in his hands, deep in thought. “Well, maybe you will see him again soon. First impressions are never the best and it sounds like it wasn’t that great for either of you. Maybe you just need to talk to him some more, see what he’s really like.”

“You know who Achilles is, right? He’s got more important things to worry about than the dorky kid he knocked over at the bookstore.” Patroclus was still skeptical about the man. He has had to deal with guys like that before at his former schools. They had the attention of everyone around them and yet they never took advantage of it. Guys like Achilles weren’t mean or anything, they just didn’t hang out with people like Patroclus.

Briseis broke off his train of thought by clearing her throat and shifting a bit in her seat, so she was staring straight at Patroclus. “I think you may be surprised. I happen to know that he is very into art and literature. You two would have a lot in common.”

Patroclus opened his mouth to speak, but his friend cut him off with a raised hand. “I’m just saying you should give him more credit. I don’t know the guy all that well, but I do know that, from what I’ve heard, he was definitely trying to make an effort to get to know you. It sounds to me like you were the one making it harder for him.”

“Was not,” Patroclus retorted in defense, though he will admit that she may have had a point. Achilles was the one asking the questions and doing most of the talking. Maybe he was interested in getting to know Patroclus. Then again, he came from a family where it was expected to be that polite to everyone. 

The dark haired man was beginning to realize why his only real friend was Briseis. He was not one to trust other so easily, considering what has happened in the past. More than anything, he was afraid to trust that Achilles was being genuinely sincere. He had every right to be as he was. Patroclus had been taken advantage of by people who seemed to be caring and courteous. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes he did when he was a young boy. Time had turned him into this guarded young man who was afraid to let people get to deep into his life.

“Well, whatever you say,” Briseis said standing up to leave. Patroclus followed suit and joined her on their walk back to the campus. “You two would be very good friends, I can tell.” He just shook his head at her statement. He didn’t even know the guy enough to worry about seeing him again, let alone becoming friends with him. “Just don’t forget about me when you two are suddenly spending all your time together.”

“You’re delusional Bris, truly crazy. We aren’t going to start hanging out any time soon and even if we were, no one could ever replace you.” He threw his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “You’re the best.”

Briseis smiled up at her best friend before tucking her head into his arm. They walked the entire way back to the campus hip to hip, comforted by each other, both content to stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise next chapter will have much more Achilles and Patroclus interaction. Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!-Renee


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait, but this chapter is pretty long to make up for it. The first part with Achilles was written by Lexi, and the last part with Patroclus was written by me (Renee).

It had been a few days since Achilles and Patroclus’ awkward yet charming encounter, and the pair hadn’t spoken since. It wasn’t the fact that they didn’t want to see each other, but more the sheer fear of not knowing what to say.

Achilles was about to leave is last class of the day, which happened to be chemistry, when Professor Chiron called him to the front of the lecture hall. The young blond man had never been gifted in the subject, but his mother somehow persuaded him to take it. 

“What do you mean my chemistry mark isn’t high enough?” Achilles demanded haughtily; his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.  
Professor Chiron exhaled calmly, eyes fixated on him.

“Well, your mark is average, but it could be improved is all I’m suggesting.”

“But I have a 77%. Surely that isn’t terrible.”

“If you wish to take the following course, you need an 80% average.” Achilles blinked in awe. His mother would be infuriated if he didn’t take the following course.

“I’m sure I can manage.” He replied courtly. 

“You could always get a peer tutor,” Professor Chiron began to retrieve a paper from one of the many drawers in his desk. He smoothed the paper out and traced his finger down through the columns, criss-crossing every few seconds. Finally happy with his choice, he stopped his finger gingerly and grinned. “One of my student’s is free for tutoring. I’m sure he’d be willing to help.”

Reluctantly, Achilles glanced at the scribbled filled page. “Well,” Achilles cocked his head at the paper. “Who’d you have in mind?”

“Are you familiar with Patroclus?” The professor asked as he propped up his glasses. A breath hitched in Achilles’ throat, and his heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t possibly mean the Patroclus he knew, the one he’d been wishing to see again for days.

“I am, yes.” Achilles bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from commenting.

“Well he has the highest average in my other class, and he agreed to help any struggling students, so as long as you agree I can set you up with him for studying.”

Achilles detested the thought of someone helping him. He took such pride in being independent. “Alright.” He replied after a few moments, and strapped his bag onto his shoulder. Professor Chiron pursed his lips, verging on a soft smile.  
“Fantastic. You won’t regret this, I assure you.”

Achilles nodded, his feet shifting towards the door. “I can hope that I won’t.” He muttered under his breath and left without another word.

~~

“So, Achilles, how was your day?” Are the first words that reached Achilles’ ears that evening. His parents had planned a family get together like they did every month or so, though Achilles never understood why. They absolutely hated each other once they separated, or at least they acted like they did. So Achilles’ only guess to why they forced themselves to sit down at a dinner table for 2 hours and oafishly eat together was to reassure Achilles that he had some sort of normal family life. Which he knew wasn’t the case what so ever.

Pushing the thought far back in his mind, Achilles picked up his fork and plunged it into the piece of steak in front of him.  
“It was uneventful.” His tongue felt like sand paper, completely foreign as he managed to chew his steak.

“Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t completely uneventful,” His mother, Thetis chimed in. “How were your classes?” Achilles stopped mid-chew, taken aback by her question.

“They were fine.” He replied after a moment. “Though I may need a tutor.”  
A metal clash rang throughout the room as Achilles’ father, Peleus, let his fork crash onto his plate. “A tutor?” 

“For chemistry.” Achilles ducked his head slightly, whishing he’d never brought the subject up. 

“But aren’t you good at chemistry?”

“I need an 80% average to take the next course, mother.” The worried man stated coolly. He wouldn’t let his parents break him. “And the boy they have in mind to tutor me is very-” He paused. “Splendid.”

Peleus tilted his head with intrigue. “And who is this boy?”

“Patroclus.” Achilles took another swift bite of his steak to try and skip over Patroclus’ name.

Thetis leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, while Peleus’s lips turned upwards into a warm smile.

The three of them kept quiet for a few moments. Peleus was the one to break their heavy, prolonged silence. “I’m sure he’s a fine gentleman.” 

“Well I don’t like the sound of this ‘Patroclus’ character.” Thetis’s eyes narrowed at Achilles, her lips pressed into a rigid frown. “I can just hire a tutor for you.”

“Mother, Patroclus is fine. I’ve met him before!” Achilles raised a hand to his face in an act of exasperation. 

“I don’t want you speaking to him.”

“But why? You haven’t even met him!”

“I just don’t want you to. You shouldn’t have to ask why.” Thetis hissed.

“I have the right to make my own decisions!” Achilles insisted, his brow now furrowed in anger. It was always like this. They couldn’t agree on a single thing together. 

“As long as I’m paying for your tuition, you sure as hell don’t.” 

The stubborn young man winced, trying to remain as calm as possible, but failed miserable. In a sudden fit of rage, Achilles quickly pushed himself out of his chair. “I’m not dealing with this anymore.” He stormed off down the nearby hallway, with the sound of their front door being slammed shut following soon after. 

Back in the other room, Peleus carefully placed his fork back onto his plate, grimacing at the hallway as Achilles’ heated footsteps echoed against the walls. “And now I remember why we shouldn’t have family dinners.”

~~

Patroclus was carrying a large stack of books in his arms, as he struggled through the door of Chiron's office. "You wanted to see me, Professor?" 

Chiron was sorting through piles and didn't see Patroclus sit down at the desk in front of him, until he set down his books. "Oh yes, Patroclus. I needed to talk to you about something. Do you remember that teacher's assistant opportunity I offered for you at the beginning of the term?"

"To tutor your struggling students?" Chiron nodded, as though he was expecting Patroclus to answer. "Oh, professor, I don't know if I can. I am swamped with work and midterms are coming up. I'm sorry, but I have to focus on my own studies." 

Patroclus felt bad, he really did, but he knew how important these exams were. If he performed poorly, the school would surely revoke his scholarship. At the same time, he knew he would be letting both Chiron and the struggling student down. He glanced up at the professor, who was smiling at him almost knowingly. Patroclus bit his lip. “I guess I could work some things around in my schedule.” 

Chiron smiled brightly and clapped his hands together. “Great. Achilles is going to be very happy to hear that.”

Patroclus’ jaw dropped. “Did you say Achilles? You need me to tutor Achilles?”

“Oh, so you know him. One of my brightest pupils. I don’t think he has been very focused recently. That’s why I need you to tutor him.” 

Patroclus sank back in his chair, trying his best to process this information. Achilles, the golden boy, was struggling in a class? He really couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At the same time, he couldn’t believe his luck. He had been looking for a reason to talk to Achilles again; he was not expecting to get handed an opportunity like this. 

“So, when did you want me to start?”

~~

“You will not believe the reason Chiron called me to his office today.” As soon as he left the meeting with Chiron, Patroclus had decided to give Briseis a call. He still was not sure that the encounter had even happened. 

“I’ll believe it when you tell me, Pat,” Briseis mumbled. He assumed she was probably multi-tasking, as was usually the case with her. She was always busy and rarely ever had time, but she always seemed to have time to talk to Patroclus. 

The young man sighed. “Chiron has found someone for me to tutor in Chemistry.”

“No way. Him?”

Briseis had a funny way of always knowing what Patroclus was going to say before he said it. “How did you know what I was going to say?” he scoffed. 

Briseis gave a shriek, so loud Patroclus had to pull the phone away from his ear for a second. “So I was right? Achilles needs help with his studies?” She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Isn’t this a surprising turn of events. When are you meeting up with him to study?”

“You say that like it’s not what we will be doing.” There was silence on the other side of the call. Patroclus could practically see Briseis raising her eyebrow at him. “We will be studying, Briseis, and nothing more. God, Bris, what are you thinking? I barely even know the guy.” 

This was typical Briseis. Ever since Patroclus broke up with his old boyfriend, Hector, she has been trying to get him to see other people. He knew he did this because she cares about him, but he couldn’t help but think that she was wasting her time. He was terrible at interacting with other people, and he could barely hold the relationships that he already had. 

“Briseis, I am hanging up if you don’t have anything else to say.” He thought again. “And by anything, I mean, anything that isn’t about you wanting to set me up with anyone.” 

“Oh come on, Pat, you need to give someone a chance.” She almost wanted to say, because you never gave me one, but thought better of it. “All I want is for you to be happy, and honestly, I haven’t seen you smile very much since you ended things with Hector.”

Patroclus clenched and unclenched the fist that was not holding his phone. “I don’t want to talk about that. And I am happy- I just have a lot on my mind right now.” 

There was another pause of silence. Finally, Briseis spoke, her voice small. “Patroclus, I’m sorry. You know I care about you. I guess I just need to stop trying to help all the time.”

“I know you are. And I know you care. I just need a bit of time to think everything through.” He heard Briseis cough a slightly, and he hoped he had not made her cry. “I love you, Bris.”

She gave a small sniff, clearing her throat. “I know, Pat. I love you too.”

Patroclus did not want to end their conversation this way, but he had his class of the day in less than ten minutes. He quickly piled up his stack of books with one hand. As he tried to put them all under his arm, he lost grip of the bottom book, sending everything flying. “Shit!”

“You okay?” He could hear Briseis practically scream in his ear. 

He bent over to pick up the mess, when another person joined him on the ground. The pair didn’t look at each other- they just quickly gathered the books and papers around them. Briseis was still shouting at Patroclus over the phone, but he was too busy to answer. 

When everything had been retrieved, he turned to take his belongings back from the person who had helped him. He froze dead in his tracks. Achilles was face to face with Patroclus, holding the rest of his books and papers. The blond was giving Patroclus a brilliant smile. “Hey, just the guy I was looking for.” 

Patroclus looked at him with a confused expression. Achilles was looking for him? He pulled himself together and they both stood up. “Is there something I can do for you?” He expected Achilles to hand him his things, but he just held on to them. 

“I actually just wanted to talk to you about something.” He saw Patroclus look to the buildings a few kilometers away. “You have somewhere to be.” It wasn’t a question. 

“Um yeah, I actually have class soon.”

Achilles nodded and looked at his watch. “I don’t have to be anywhere soon. I’ll walk with you.” Patroclus must not have looked completely sure about the idea, because Achilles gave him a reassuring nudge. “Besides, you looked like you could use a hand with these,” he mentioned, gesturing to the books he was holding.

“Um, thanks, Achilles.”

Patroclus almost forgot that he was still on the line with his friend, but he was reminded when he heard a squeal in his ear. “Hey Bris, I’ll call you later. I have to get to class.”  
He could hear her snort clear as day on the other end. “Like hell you do. I will expect full details. Dinner tonight at my place.” Normally they would spend their nights having dinner at one of their apartments. Patroclus just wasn’t expecting her to want to hang out tonight, especially after he tried to push her away. This is what he loved about Briseis- she forgave him even when he had troubles forgiving himself. 

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll see you then.” He was about to hang up when he remembered something important. “Hey love, I actually don’t have to work tonight. Do you want to meet at my place instead.”

“That would probably be best. I have a class that may go late tonight. You’re a better cook anyway.”

Patroclus gave a quiet chuckle, being careful in case Briseis was still sensitive about their conversation earlier. “I will have something ready. Bye.”

“Tell Achilles I say, ‘hi.’” She was gearing back up, and Patroclus could hear the teasing tone in her voice. 

“I love you too.” He was quick to hang up to avoid any possible embarrassment she might have caused. He turned back to Achilles and saw that there was a slight frown gracing the man’s features. When he realized that Patroclus was looking at him, he did his best to make it seem that he was not in fact eavesdropping on the conversation. He made a motion with his head toward the buildings and Patroclus silently nodded. 

They walked for a couple minutes without saying a word to each other. Achilles decided to speak up. “So, uh, was that your girlfriend? You know, the person you were talking to on the phone?”

Patroclus looked at Achilles for a second before laughing jovially. “Briseis? No, she is just a really close friend. We have known each other since-well, we have known each other for a long time.”

Achilles noticed how the man had stopped himself from saying something. He would have been lying if he said he wasn’t curious. He found that he was very interested in getting to know Patroclus better. He was so different from Achilles, and yet, so similar. Achilles could not help that he was intrigued by the man. 

“So the two of you have never...?”

“Oh god no,” Patroclus practically shouted. He didn’t know why, but he was worried about giving Achilles the wrong impression. “She’s um, not my type.” As he said this, he swore he saw Achilles grin slightly, from his peripheral vision. “You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about.”

 

Achilles snapped his head in Patroclus’ direction. At first, he had forgotten what he was going to say, but it soon came back to him. “Yes, I do. The other day, Chiron told me that you are going to be my new tutor in Chemistry. I just need an 80% average by the end of term.” Patroclus nodded. “I was hoping we could figure out times when we could meet up to study. I don’t know if you were going to work out the whole time thing with him or not, so I decided to check with you first.”

“I would tell you what times work best for me, but honestly my schedule is so unpredictable that things would probably change five times before we next see each other.” Patroclus shrugged as if to say he really wished the situation was different. By now they had reached the front of the classroom. 

Achilles transferred the weight of the books to one arm to fish something out of his pocket. He procured his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. “Could I get your phone number? That way I could call you sometime, and we can work things out that way.” Patroclus nodded and recited his number. Achilles then tucked his phone away and handed the books over. “Well, it was nice seeing you again, Patroclus. I’ll talk to you soon, yeah?” 

“Er, sure, talk to you soon.” Patroclus had turned around and entered the classroom so quickly that he didn’t see Achilles murmur his name under his breath with a reverent smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Major thanks to the lovely Lexi for helping me with ideas. She will be writing some of the chapters for the story and I will post them here. You can find more of my writing here and at prouvairecateur.tumblr.com and you can find more of Lexi's writing at sassmaster-killian.tumblr.com. Hope you liked it.


End file.
